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An eminent economist warns that Western nations’ economic expectations for the future are way out of sync with the realities of economic stagnation and stringent steps will be required to avoid massive political and economic upheaval.

“It is alarmingly difficult to disagree with Stephen King. All one can say, perhaps, is that one of the great errors of human nature—strongly displayed before the credit crunch—is the belief that a prevailing trend will continue indefinitely. The crunch is surely a reminder that what goes up must come down.”—Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph

“[King] is dabbling in the financial equivalent of the horror genre. Perhaps even scarier, his is the stuff of nonfiction.”—Michael J. Casey, Wall Street Journal

Stephen D. King is Senior Economic Adviser at HSBC. He has also been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee.